In the US, and many other lands, justice is in the hands of the police and the courts. The citizenry must abide by their decision. But this overlooks the fact that vengeance is a human instinct.
Indeed along with self-defence and sex, revenge is a motivation for many acts of violence. Prisons are filled with vigilantes who killed those seemingly deserving of their revenge. Still, murders can't be condoned and novelists must create stories with extenuating circumstances.
Jeffery Deaver is one of the most popular Yank authors, with 30 books under his belt to date. He was even tapped to sit in for the late Ian Fleming for a James Bond cloak-and-dagger thriller. Though he writes well, this reviewer regards it a drawback that he overwrites, 550 pages for 350.
Deaver's outstanding character is a New York homicide detective. What differentiates him from his global literary colleagues is that Lincoln Rhyme is a paraplegic, a state acquired in the line of duty. Far from being medically retired, with the help of advanced science and technology he is able to function.
Analysing evidence is his expertise, assisted by Detective Amelia Sachs (to whom he's engaged), while Thom is his caregiver. If you remember, The Bone Collector was adapted to the screen, Denzel Washington playing the sleuth, Angelina Jolie the cop.
The case they are working on in The Steel Kiss is another toughie. First there's the matter of motivation, then of identifying him. A difficulty is that he's a computer hacker knowing whatever the investigators do. By the time he's caught, his killing spree is over.
It is the normal looking brother of a sibling born with a freakish appearance who was bullied by boys and girls alike until he committed suicide. Revenge was taken on those who drove him to it. Unjustified, of course. Bullying isn't a crime.
Lincoln Rhyme isn't invariably right in his profiling and analysis, occasionally sending the Big Apple's Finest on wild goose chases. But in such instances he corrects himself. Interestingly, scriveners prefer the LAPD to the New York Police Department.
Killer drivers
At the end of the 19th century more than a few scientists agreed that everything worth discovering had been, and that the 20th century offered little promise. They couldn't have been more wrong. Scientists at the end of the 20th century knew enough not to make such an unwise prediction.
The 21st century in its infancy has invented, and improved, 20th century discoveries. And more, much, much more, is still to come. Smartphones, for one, have captured the imagination of the world. The functions they can't yet perform, they will.
Their drawback, often joked about, is that it demands our complete attention. Holding to our face, especially when the parties are pictured, makes it inadvisable to do something else at the same time.
Not least while driving. Alas, all too many motorists ignore this.
According to police statistics, one of every four traffic accidents is caused by a motorist talking on a phone while driving. Science is wonderful, but has its downside. Yank novelist Chris Carter makes this the theme of The Caller. No humour here.
Carter notes that people in all walks of life drive, a lot of second-hand autos on the roads. But mainly those on the social register can afford new ones and the latest phones as well. Therefore they cause accidents, usually fatal.
A number of those drivers are being sadistically murdered in their homes, after being called and told their time is up. LAPD homicide detectives Robert Hunter and Carlos Garcia are given the case. The perp turns out to be a man ridding the world of phone-drivers.
One killed his family. Yet self-styled vigilante retribution is frowned on by the authorities. They get their man, leaving readers the question of how to stamp out phone-driving.
The author delights in vividly describing horrific killings. He also throws in crime statistics of interest. Robert Hunter is an indefatigable sleuth, who doesn't always play by the book. He doesn't think twice about breaking and entering on a hunch.
